Want to Get the Most Out of Your College Experience?

Get involved!
It matters little whether your school is large or small, public or private, rural or urban—there likely is a club or activity to match your interests. Student organizations at colleges and universities are formed around a wide variety of topics, including hobbies, politics, leadership, cultures, religion, social issues, service, performances, athletics and, of course, academics.

As an incoming freshman, your first days on campus can feel like a lonely time. You may be miles away from family, friends, and familiar surroundings, often for the first time. It's easy to feel isolated. Joining a club or volunteering enables you to meet other students with similar interests, develop a long-term connection with the campus community, and develop valuable skills that will follow you long after you graduate. You also will find that you will learn a great deal more about your new institutional home, about its traditions, history, leaders, and physical geography. Your involvement has the potential for making you more aware of how the campus operates, and which resources can be the most useful to students in addressing day to day challenges.

Getting involved does more than help you pass the time while you're adjusting to campus life. There always is the chance that you will make lifelong friends. Whether you're rehearsing for a theatre production, doling out energy efficient light bulbs to help protect the environment, or working to strengthen the honor code, you'll build long-term relationships as well as a feeling of accomplishment. In fact, the more you get involved in campus life, the more you're apt to feel a part of the community. Participating in an organized activity gives you a sense of place, a feeling of belonging. So many alumni say that getting involved on campus as students cemented a deeper connection with their alma mater.

Joining a club or organization on campus is a safe place to test your interests or explore new possibilities with those who may share your sense of adventure. It also is a way to receive firsthand experience that will build a resume and help you land that first job or graduate school admission. Most activities will present opportunities for teamwork and leadership skill development. You will build on these opportunities, learning to organize a budget, manage people, market an event and ultimately steward a successful program. The chance to stretch yourself and experience situations where you can reach your fullest potential is invaluable.

From a practical side, becoming active in the campus community augments the academic experience. It provides a chance to network with faculty, organizational advisors, other classmates, alumni, members of the local community and even potential employers. You'll be able to explore concepts born in the classroom and cultivate skills that complement your courses. Many journalists, industry leaders, government officials or filmmakers say they discovered their passion and honed experience for their careers or avocations by joining the school newspaper, business club, campus debaters or film society.

Joining a service organization on campus also gives you a chance to give back, whether you are tutoring an elementary student, collecting food for a local food drive, rebuilding a family's home after the ravages of flooding, or helping to establish an orphanage in Honduras. This dedication to helping others reaches beyond the campus and often helps lead to service-oriented career choices or a commitment to a lifetime of community service. You may also find that you will learn a great deal more about the local—or global—community as a byproduct of your service involvement, as college students often find ways to make a difference in their own back yard or halfway around the world.

You'll enjoy a sense of accomplishment at having been a part of an organization, whether your role is large or small. Want to get involved in resolving campus issues? You don't have to run for student council president. You can begin by running for a position in your residence hall, or taking on a position in the student senate.

How do you get started?
Stop by your college's student activities or student programming office and ask anyone on the staff about the multitude of organizations on campus. Many schools have club carnivals or organizational fairs that showcase the varieties of activities available on campus. Talk to members of the clubs and take in a meeting to see if one is right for you. If you don't see one you like, you also can think about starting your own. Most schools have guidelines for organizing a new club.

However you choose to get involved on your campus, you'll reap a lifetime of benefits.

Editorial provided by Cedric Rucker, Dean of Student Life, University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.